HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Though it’s become a popular spot for the hosting of music festivals and more, a bill would get Paseo Stadium in Hagåtña back to it’s intended use: baseball.
Concerts, carnivals and circuses, along with any other activities that could damage the baseball diamond, practice field or out-of-play areas, would be outlawed, should Sen. Chris Barnett’s Bill 163 become law. The measure has bipartisan support from nine senators, including Barnett.
Damage to the field has left baseball to take a back seat at Paseo over the past seven years, despite continued enthusiasm for the sport from players and fans, the Post reported. The rain-soaked Indigo Music Festival in January was the latest to tear up the field. Pictures of concertgoers with their legs and feet covered in mud briefly became a trend on local social media.
Barnett told the Post the aftermath of the music event was what sparked his decision to proceed with Bill 163.
“This is one of the most beautiful ballparks in the hemisphere, and baseball is a sport that people of Guam have excelled at, and been successful with for many decades,” he said.
“We have such a storied history of baseball, dating back over 100 years here on Guam. And when I think about the the heyday of baseball, and the future of baseball, and the role of Paseo Stadium and the development and nurturing of not just us players, but also the Guam Major League, I think that we just have to cherish that diamond because it’s one of a kind.”
Barnett said he chose to try and enshrine the ban on concerts and other activities into law because he’d been informed the Department of Parks and Recreation had wanted to avoid hosting concerts at the stadium, but was stepped on by promoters who had the political pull to force through their events.
The use of the stadium for the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture in 2016 was what set off years of misuse at Paseo, Barnett said, after a makeshift stage rendered the field unusable for two years. After that, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to freeze baseball players off the field.
It’s unclear how much money concerts, carnivals and circuses rake in, as a note on the fiscal impact of the bill is pending, and leadership at Parks and Rec couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.
Barnett said he’s yet to discuss the measure with the parks department, but said he does not believe hosting events at the stadium generates a large amount of revenue for the already underfunded agency. The senator said he’d sent a number of Freedom of Information Act requests to find out more about how much promoters paid to use the facility, though he said, “I’m not trying to throw any concert promoter or anybody under the bus.”
Government documents show Bill 163 isn’t likely to lead to a massive drop in revenues for the agency.
The Public Recreation Services Fund, which receives money from Paseo rental contracts, along with all other fees and fines levied by Parks and Rec, will provide $91,320 out of the agency’s proposed $4.2 million budget next fiscal year, or just a little over 2%.
Money from the recreation fund is limited to the maintenance of parks and other facilities, purchase of supplies and materials, or creation of community programs meant to benefit the island.
Rules and regulations for GovGuam show that the cost to rent out Paseo Stadium for a non-baseball event hosted by a nonprofit organization is $15 per hour during the day and $20 per hour at night, or 10% of the gross from the stadium gate if that yield is higher. Rates are even lower if the organization plans to use the location for more than 15 days in a year.
Any for-profit promotion looking to put on a show at Paseo must negotiate directly with the parks department, but even that revenue doesn’t look dramatically high. Paseo has hosted at least two big events this fiscal year — the Indigo Music Festival and the Reggae in Paradise concert in November.
Government revenue reports show the Public Recreation Services Fund brought in just $57,650 in total as of the close of June. Total revenue for the fund through the end of fiscal 2023 in September is expect to be just $65,675.
